In general, the use of vertically disposed spindles to hold toilet paper rolls commends itself because it is much easier to replace depleted rolls of paper than in the case of devices of the same sort having the traditional horizontally disposed spindles. As a rule, horizontally disposed spindles require both ends to be securely ensconced in holding devices so that the paper roll will not rotate off the spindle in the course of being unfurled. Consequently, horizontally disposed devices require a rather cumbersome procedure to replace depleted rolls of paper, since the spindle itself must first be detached from its associated holding devices, and then reattached after being inserted into the core of a fresh roll of paper. As a result, devices of this type often fall into disuse, and toilet paper rolls instead stand about freely in the bathroom and cause a cluttered appearance. Moreover, the surfaces on which toilet paper rolls are placed in these circumstances tend to be wet, and thus many rolls of toilet paper are damaged or ruined owing simply to the difficulty associated with mounting them to the standard horizontal dispenser.
Vertically disposed dispensers, on the other hand, do not require the top portion of the spindle to be secured in a holding device in order to effectively contain the roll to the spindle as it is being unfurled. For this reason, vertically disposed spindles offer a general advantage over horizontally disposed ones in that rolls of toilet paper or other material may be instantly removed and installed over the top end of the vertical spindle. Such a convenience will encourage people to make use of the dispenser, thus avoiding the previously described problems associated with horizontal dispensers.
Many of the vertically disposed paper dispensers disclosed in the prior art do not fully exploit the potential convenience offered by their 25 vertical disposition because they fail to include a means whereby the roll is securely confined to the spindle body in the course of being unfurled. Such a means is of particular neccessity in the case of vertical toilet paper dispensers, because a person generally reaches down from above the dispenser to dispense toilet paper. As a consequence, the roll will have a tendency to rotate up and off of the spindle, in the direction in which it is being pulled. To overcome this difficulty one of the points of novelty of the present invention is the inclusion of a specially designed retaining flange attached to the spindle top which functions to retain the roll while being unfurled from above, but without impeding its easy removal and installation.
Previously disclosed paper roll dispensers include U.S. Pat. No. 1,224,106, granted to Good; U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,805, granted to Barbee; U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,980, granted to Addison; U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,055, granted to Bauman; U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,500, granted to Krause; U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,872, granted to Marshall, Jr; U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,391, granted to Ness; U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,682, granted to Dickson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,956, granted to McTaggart; U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,749, granted to White; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,565, granted to Cheng. A consideration of these patents reveals three devices which incorporate structural elements at the top of the dispensing spindle functioning to retain the top of the roll to the spindle. The first of these is U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,055, one embodiment of which discloses the addition of a relatively wide diameter disk included on the spindle top to retain the paper roll. The second is U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,749, which discloses a vertically disposed paper roll holder whose spindle includes a top portion which may be screwed onto the top of the spindle and which has two small oppositely placed horizontal bars projecting radially outward intended to confine the roll to the bar. The last of these is U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,565, which discloses a vertically oriented tissue dispensing spindle, having a storage shelf for a spare roll of toilet tissue. The dispenser mounts on the horizontal spindle of a conventional dispenser and is stabilized against the base of the conventional dispenser.
In the case of the latter developments, however, the outer limit of the retaining devices extends radially beyond the radius of the paper roll core, thus necessitating the removal of the retaining devices from the spindle in order to remove a spent roll and insert a new one. As a result, one of the primary advantages of a vertically disposed device--namely, that it preclude the encumbrances inherent in horizontally disposed devices relating to roll removal and insertion--is vitiated. The present invention remedies this defect by providing a modified spindle top whose diameter widens slightly in relation to the diameter of the spindle body below it so as to retain the paper roll during the act of unfurling, but whose maximum diameter is less than the diameter of toilet paper roll core so as to permit single-step procedures to insert and remove rolls.
The prior art also fails to describe an adaptor for convertibly mounting the device to previously installed horizontal toilet paper dispensers. Such horizontal dispensers are often structures made of ceramic or the like and permanently mounted to the bathroom wall. It is generally not easily possible to remove such a dispenser without substantially altering the bathroom itself An alternative means of dealing with the presence of the horizontal dispenser is to incorporate its structure into that of the vertical dispenser, both for aesthetic reasons and for the sake of saving wall space. This incorporation of structure can be achieved through use of the adaptor kit herein disclosed. In addition, the adaptor kit offers the possibility of using the horizontal dispenser to provide structural support for the vertical dispenser.
An added problem attends the use of the replacement dispensers in bathrooms with tiled walls, since this type of decor does not lend itself to the use of screws or other surface-penetrating fasteners to secure the replacement dispenser. The use of the adaptor kit disclosed herein, however, requires no tools, drilling, or surface-penetrating fasteners, and can be adjusted to fit almost any existing toilet paper dispenser of horizontal disposition. For all these reasons, the adaptor kit herein disclosed has a particular pertinence to the structure of many bathrooms currently in use.
While several of the devices in patents cited above include specific mounting adaptations, only three of these devices disclose adaptations whose purpose somewhat resembles the apparatus proposed herein. The first, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,500, comprises a shelf intended to dispense paper towels in a vertically disposed fashion, with an adaptation allowing it to be mounted to horizontally disposed towel racks and the like. A second device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,749, discloses a vertical roll holder which includes a clip allowing the device to be clipped to the bars of a hospital bed. The last device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,565, incorporates a guide tube containing a brace and spring as a pressure stabilizing means. While the function of the adaptor associated with the present invention may appear similar to the mounting adaptations just cited, the structure of the adaptor kit herein disclosed differs considerably, and will be seen to constitute a further point of novelty in the present invention.
By virtue of the distinct character both of the retaining flange and the horizontal spindle adaptor described herein, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singlely or in combination, is seen to describe the present invention as claimed.
The distinct character of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.